A word on authenticity

My mission!
All offered items have been carefully authenticated. This is what I consider my primary and most important service to you and also is the area where I invest the majority of time and effort for each and every item. I do not simply buy and resell collectibles - my mission is to assure that you can buy anything without hesitation and enjoy a guaranteed authentic collectible. As a proud member of the UACC I committed myself to the high ethical standards of the UACC.

Sharing information is important!
I am not afraid to share all background information on any given item offered here. I always include COAs, letters of authenticity or other material I might have obtained from the previous owner along with mine when I transfer possession. For some inconclusive reason many dealers and collectors seem to worry about passing on COAs from previous owners. I don't - I think it is crucial to maintain a conclusive trail for every piece of memorabilia that I sell and that any background information on the origins of an item is almost as important as the item itself.

What proof will I receive when I order from you?
You will receive a 100% money-back guarantee for the authenticity of the item(s) purchased. The guarantee is valid for the complete lifetime of the item and can be passed on in case you decide to trade or sell it. The COA includes my full contact details plus a photo of the exact item(s) or a very precise description. Further you will receive all available information on the history of the item(s). Where it originally came from and if other experts have already authenticated it. I am a firm believer that previously issued COAs are important as well and will gladly include them.

Why should I buy from you if can find certain items much cheaper on eBay or write to a star myself to get an autograph?
If you are being offered an autograph for a price below value it must be for a reason. You can take for granted that roughly 90% of all "autographs" offered on eBay and similar platforms are not authentic for one of the following possible reasons:

1. Forgery: when a person has attempted to mimic a signature. Very hard to detect. Only years of experience plus an extensive library of references for that specific celebrity will enable you to sort these out.
2. Secretarial: signed by the celebrities secretaries or family members then mailed back to the fan who requested the autograph by mail. Lots of collectors fall for this type of forgery and even try to sell and trade them with a perfectly good conscience. Most fans and collectors tend to assume that if they receive something handwritten from an official address that it has to be the real thing. In fact quite the opposite is true - even relatively little famed "celebrities" receive masses of autograph requests on a daily basis and consequently seek the help of secretaries in order to not disappoint their fans.
3. Fake: produced by someone who has no idea or simply doesn't care what the actual signature looks like and just scribbled anything. These kinds of fakes are usually quite easy to detect IF you're in possession of a known-to-be-genuine reference. Still, you wouldn't be believe how many people fall for these ballsy fakes. I observed an auction where a supposed "Heath Ledger autograph" - so obviously faked - went for several hundred dollars.
4. Autopen: A robotic copy of the celebrities signature, often received through the mail and quite tough to detect. Autopens can look stunningly real. To avoid them you need to have several samples at hand and be familiar with the current matrices a star might be using.
5. Pre-print: A reproduction of the original, where the signature is part of the photo. These are the easiest to detect as the supposed signature will not reflect the light correctly as ink on the paper would.
6. Rubber stamps: The signature is simply stamped on a photograph or piece of paper. These can be harder to detect than one might think. Especially on vintage photographs they often look much like a signature with fountain pen would look like. Only years of experience and some other examples of the same star and motive can save from these (your only chance is to compare it with similar items - if the signatures are 100% identical, it has to be stamped)
   
   

So, how do you get hold of all these great items?
I have only very few but very reliable and well established sources of supply:

• Autographed material from current stars and celebrities:
  Are mainly from professional photographers that regularly attend movie premieres, galas or awards ceremonies. These are very personal and long term contacts that I established over the years.
  Rarely I attend such public events myself to collect autographs. If such an event takes place somewhere near my domicile, I usually go there together with my brother and we try not only to obtain signatures ourselves, but also to buy quality autographs from fellow autograph hunters we encounter there.
• On some occasions I also buy from just a handful of reputed fellow dealers that I personally trust and have known for several years.
• Movie props, production-used material and vintage autographs sometimes surface at renowned auction houses where I place bids. Authenticating these items usually takes up a lot of time, as you often do not know for sure who consigned an item and I tend to distrust the authentication services of auction houses.
  
  

Some final advice from you?
Sure. There are some very simple but true rules, that I had to learn the hard way:

• If it seems to good to be true it usually is.
• Always consider an item as not authentic until can prove the opposite. There is nothing like "trust in advance" in this hobby.
• Don't let the fact that you rely on someone as a person distract you from the item in question. A lot of people are not even aware that they are offering counterfeit material and would never do so if they only knew better.